Princess of the Sea

By: CyanideMuffins7

Chapter 6: Silence is Golden

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Hunger Games, the trilogy or any of the characters Suzanne Collins has created. I only take credit for the characters I have created and the plot I have made.

Eleven. I got eleven. Was that even possible? How could I have got eleven? The number kept flashing in my mind even when my name faded and the screen proceeded to the next Tribute. But the room remained silent between everyone until Iza spoke up.

"This is exciting! Sponsors will line up for you now!" Iza said with giddiness as she gently jerked around on the couch. Everyone congratulated me and Hei for a job well done. Iza said she needed to plan out tomorrow, so she left. Nex and Atris said they needed to prepare for tomorrow as well, so they left. This left Finnick, Hei and I to finish watching the other tributes receive their scores.

Some actually received decent scores, well at least the higher Districts. The boy from 7 received an eight. But the girl got the lowest score I had ever seen which was a two. But by her defined features, she looks she could have done better. But that was just me judging the cover. When it got to 12, the boy got 11 like me. I guess his performance by practically destroying the Gym caught the Gamemakers' eyes while the girl from 12 got a seven. I can just imagine her screaming her head off at the other District 12 Tribute. It almost crept a smile on my lips but kept it straight.

Suddenly I felt Finnick's warm breath against my ear as he whispered something into my ear, "You know what they say about a girl who can tie knots well, right?" I feel my face turn hot but on instinct I punched him right in his jaw. But it took me a moment to realize what I had done, and my face got even hotter. I quickly stood up and awkwardly apologized and left. I quickly headed back to my room and fell right on my bed, smothering my face in my pillow.

I felt embarrassed. I just punched my mentor on his priceless face, and now I'm probably going to get on his bad side. My luck…and I don't have my necklace to give me luck.

I dress out of my training clothes and into my night gown, and then slipped under the covers. My eyes close but I'm still conscious, trying to sleep even though my mind was filling thoughts.

I finally drift into sleep but I began to have a nightmare where I'm in the arena wielding a Trident in my hands while I'm fighting off husks that once looked human. I then hear Valentine screaming my name from behind me. I turn around and see a tall metal fence like the one we had back in 4 that blocked off the marshes. She was on the other side, calling me to come back. But as I begin to run towards the gate, the husks crash against me like a wave in a storm. I fall to the ground, and they start to drown me a mass of dark red tar like goo. Valentine's voice became faint and more in pain until she finally screamed at the top of her lungs my name.

My eyes quickly open and I sit, panting for air as I felt my skin crawl and my body heat up. After that, no matter how hard I try to close my eyes, I couldn't go back to sleep. I decide I should walk around to clear my head. I walk around the halls until I find myself in a room where a long wooden table stretched across the room with chairs on each side. I didn't want to sit on the chairs, so I crawled under the table and hid within the darkness.

I remember when I was little I was in a similar situation. I was ten and I had came back from school. Dad was out fishing with Evan and Ian. Valentine was playing with her friends afterschool so it was just me and mom at home. Mom was really sick from some disease I forgot, but I remember she would cough out blood sometimes and she was so pale. It was like all the radiance, and life in her was sucked away. So I went to her room where she was bedridden, she offered to help with my homework. I was reluctant to but she wanted to keep herself busy, so I have her help me. After that I read to her until I start to become tired. She smiles at me and asks, "can you open the window for me sunshine?"

I put the book on the night stand and do as I was told. I open the window as high as my short arms could. The cool salty breeze entered the room which seemed to relax my mother. I walk back to my stool and laid my head on the soft wool sheets. She began to hum as she stroked my hair. It soothed me, and I had closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I turned my head to my mom. Her hand felt cold against my cheek. I closed the window and sat back on the stool, but I looked at her face more closely. It looked empty. I place my ear over her chest, hoping to hear her familiar warm heartbeat.

Silence.

I had ran out of the house and crawled under the porch, hiding as I cried into my knees. The porch was dark, cold, and empty. It was perfect for the darkness to conceal my pain. It felt like hours I was under there, but it was already night time when Ian had found me. He sat under the porch with me, hugging me to keep me warm. After I calmed down, he brought me back in the house and bundled me up.

Right now, the darkness was what I needed to ease the pain. But the darkness soon faded when I hear the door open. Great, someone must have noticed I wasn't in my room and now they were here to drag me back there. I keep still, silencing my breathing pattern as I notice a pair white boots walk beside the table. They stopped right in front of me and the figure dressed in all white kneeled down to look under the table. I wait to be taken away, but when I recognize those red eyes and white hair, I calm down.

"Oh, it's just you." I say with relief. His eyes widen in surprise once again. I keep forgetting I'm not supposed to talk to him. But I'm not ready to go yet. I decide to let him into my dark domain and pat the area next to me, "Sit." I offered motioning him over.

He was hesitant, but the way I offered kind of sounded like an order. He followed the order and he crawled under the table and sat next to me. I guess I forgot the fact he can't speak, so there was silence. When I looked over to him, he looked at me with question written on his face. I guess he was wondering what I was doing here instead of sleeping, "I had trouble sleeping, so I was just wondering around here until I found this place." I explain.

His head nodded slowly, like he understood. I decide to explain about the nightmare, but then it led to about Valentine, then home, then to everything that was on my mind. I guess what's good about telling an Avox about your problems is that they won't tell anyone else. Actually the best thing about telling an Avox your problems is that they will listen, even if he couldn't speak to join in the conversation. I didn't need someone to talk to, I just needed someone to listen and this Avox was perfect.

Once I had finally got it off my chest, I actually felt my eyes beginning to close on me. I unintentionally yawn and began to blink slowly. I guess it was time I head back to bed before I fall asleep during breakfast. I crawl from under the table and stretched myself out. The Avox soon followed but didn't stretch like I did.

"Thank you for listening. It's just what I needed to clear my mind." I say with a nod. He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly, avoiding eye contact with me. I guess it was weird having someone like me talk to someone like him. It would get him in trouble, but if no one is watching then it should be alright. I nod to him before I leave. I sneak back into my bedroom and slip into my bed. As I began to close my heavy eyes, I knew that I could add one person to the list of people I can trust.

The Avox boy.